ARTURO O’FARRILL AND THE AFRO LATIN ENSEMBLE
8-time Grammy-winner Arturo O’Farrill makes a rare local appearance with his top NYC-based 8-piece “little big band,” presenting a program of Latin Jazz and a rare performance of his mentor NEA Jazz Master Carla Bley’s Baja-inspired classic, “Tijuana Traffic.” O’Farrill brings together the shared African roots of jazz and Mexican son jarocho for part of his set with special guests, the Tijuana-based Fandango Fronterizo Colectivo.
arturoofarrill.com.
“Arturo O’Farrill has long been known for his incredible ability to command a big band as a composer, arranger and leader… he’s a river of creativity, beauty and soul… One of our greatest living pianists.”
Downbeat
LUCÍA
In 2022, rising star vocalist Lucía Gutierrez was the first Mexican jazz artist to win the Sarah Vaughan competition, the world’s most prestigious jazz vocal award. A native of Veracruz and daughter of eminent son jarocho musicians, she combines jazz standards, boleros and son jarocho song and dance in her incandescent performances.
bnatural.nyc/lucia.
FANDANGO FRONTERIZO COLECTIVO
Tijuana’s Fandango Fronterizo Colectivo carries forward the Afro-Mexican musical tradition of son jarocho that originated in the province of Veracruz. The Colectivo is led by Jorge Francisco Castillo, founder and director of the annual Fandango Fronterizo festival. Castillo shared the Grammy award with Arturo O’Farrill for his groundbreaking album, “Fandango at the Wall,” recorded at the festival in 2018 in Playas de Tijuana.
Fandango Fronterizo on Facebook.
THE LESS LIKELY
Baja jazz artist Pako Barragan on electric guitar leads this Tijuana-based jazz/rock/hip-hop fusion quintet playing both originals and covers with compelling rhythm and scintillating vitality.
The Less Likely on Facebook.
IRVING FLORES AFRO CUBAN SEXTET
First-call San Diego jazz pianist Irving Flores celebrates the release of his dynamic new album, Armando Mi Conga, with an all-star band featuring jazz legend Horacio “El Negro” Hernandez (drums), Norbert Stachel (saxes/flute), Gilbert Castellanos (trumpet), Rene Camacho (bass), and Daniel Feldman (congas).
irvingflores.com.
“Flores comes at you like a freight train, both hands fully loaded and synched in a hypnotic choreography.”
San Diego Troubadour
BINATIONAL YOUTH ENSEMBLE
Students from two outstanding after-school jazz programs from both sides of the border join together in this unprecedented binational high school ensemble. Directed by two of the region’s acknowledged Jazz Heroes, trumpeters Gilbert Castellanos and Iván Trujillo, the band will play its own original pieces plus music of border-crossing jazz master Charles Mingus and others.
yljc.org.
Instituto Contemporáneo de Música de B.C. on Facebook